Health Coverage in Mass Media: A Content Analysis

AbstractThere is a greater demand and need for accurate, relevant, rapid and impartial public health information by people, and a growing reliance on mass media as the main source of information. It is well known that the mass media are an important social institution in any modern society. The study was conducted on the health related messages that appear in print media (Newspaper and Magazine) and electronic media (Television and Radio). The radio and television channels, newspapers and magazine used for the analysis were randomly chosen. This aspect of the study gave the researchers an insight into involvement of the media within the health communications. Detailed content analysis of various communication media concluded that all types of media provide information regarding health matters but political, social, crime and sports news were primarily covered in both print and electronic media.